Vehicle-wheel.



No. 660,873, v y Patented oct. 3o, |900. s. n. VAN TnuMP & r. n. Howl-1|..-

A VEHICLE WHEEL.

(Application led Nov. 20, 1899.)

(No lndrel r UNITED Sterns ATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL H. VAN TRUMP, OF LAWSON, AND FRANK D. ROWELL, OF LIBERTY, MISSOURI.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 660,873, dated october eo, 1900.

Application led November 20, 1899. Serial No. 737 ,578. (No model.)

admission of dust into the outer end of thel hub and the grease is confined to its proper sphere and wherein the revolution of the wheel either secures the axle-nut in or removes it from operative position, our object in this connection being to provide a construction which increases the strength and improves the appearance of the hub and by which the operation of securing the wheel in zo or removing it from position without handling the axle-nut is facilitated; furthermore, to provide a construction which can be applied to any vehicle-wheel having or which l may be provided with a point-band. z5 With these' objects in view the invention consists in certain novel and peculiar features of construction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described and claimed, and in order that it may be fully understood reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a section of the central portion of a wheel-hub, the same being operatively secured upon an axle in accordance with our invention. Fig. 2 represents a similar section of a slightly-modified form of construction. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the supplemental point-band forming a part of our invention. Fig. et is a perspective View 4o of the external nut of our invention. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the internal or axle nut forming part of our invention. l

Referring to the drawings in detail, 1 designates the axle; 2, the skein, journaled thereon; 3, the wheel-hub, secured upon the skein; 4, the inner point-band, encircling the-hub, and 5 the outer point-band,encircling the hub and secured to the same and to the inner point-band 4 in the usual or any preferred 5o manner.

The axle-nut 6 embodying our invention is formed with a socket 7 to receive the end4 of the skein, with the rectangular head 8 for convenient engagement by an ordinary wrench, if desired, and with an octagonal head 9, the latter being adapted to t snugly in the correspondingly-formed or octagonal socket 11 of the external or point-band4 nut 10, said nut being of cylindrical form and eX- ternally threaded, as shown at l2. ternal nut is provided With au'outwardly-projecting hexagonal head 13 for engagement by a wrench or equivalent device, as hereinafter explained, and in this connection'it may be stated that any other style of angular head which can be engaged by a wrench may be provided in lieu of the heads 8, 9, and 13 or any other construction by 'which said nuts may be rendered relativelyimmovable or'by e which the external nut may be caused to 7o move inward or outward in the manner here-` inafter described as the wheel revolves upon its axle.

Referring first to the construction whereby this improvement may b e applied to complete V- wheels provided with the usual point-bands, 14; designates a cylindrical sleeve or supplemental point-band of-diameter tofit snugly within the outer point-band of the wheel and having its inner' surface4 threaded, as at'l, 8o yfor engagement with the threads of the external nut above described. The inner end of said band terminates in a plurality of flat perforated points 16, tapering outward at theirinner sides in such manner that when said band is'iitted within the point-'band 5 and driven into the outer end of the hub said points bend outward under the resistance of the hub to their beveled inner sides and follow the curvature or inclination of the pointoo band 5, as shown clearly in Fig. 1, the band being secured reliably in place by means of a series of screws or rivets 17, which are driven through holes 18, provided in pointband 5, and the registering perforations of said beveled points 16 into the wood of the n hub, .as shown clearly in Fig.' 1. At one or more points the supplemental point-band is provided with a threaded hole 19, engaged by a locking-screw 20, the head of said screw loo being approximately semicircular in form in order that when its iiat side is disposed to- The ex- 6o wheel backward.

ward the axis of the band it will not obstruct the removal of the external nut from the hub. lVhen, however, the screw is turned until the fiat side of its head extends approximately radially of the band, and therefore projects beyond the inner margin of the same,'as shown in Fig. l, it is obvious that the outward movement of the external nut with relation to said band is limited.

Referring now to Fig. 2, which illustrates the application of the invention to a wheel formerly without a point-band or to a wheel constructed in View of the application of this invention, it will he noticed that the supplemental point-band 14 is dispensed with and the point-band proper (numbered 5 in this instance) provided with internal threads 15a, corresponding in function to the threads l5 ofsaid supplemental point-band, the external nut in this instance engaging the threads l5, the remainingfeatures of the invention being obviously the same as shown in Fig. l and previously described, except that the screws 16, extending radially through the pointband, are substituted for the locking-screws 20, the difference being not in principle, but only in form or arrangement.

Assuming that the parts are assembled as shown in Fig. l, it is obvious that the wheel revolves upon the axle without any possibility of accidental dislocation and that the oil and grease are con fined within the hub and the admission of dust from the outer end reliably prevented. Assuming that it is desired to remove the wheel from the hub for any purpose, the operator, first raising the vehicle to clear the wheel from the grou-nd in the customary manner, grasps the head 13 of external nut l0 with a wrench or equivalent device to prevent it turning and spins the The effect of this 'is of course `to revolve the rigid point-band and the attachedsupplemental point-band, if the latter is employed, which having a screw-thread engagement with the external nut causes the latter to move inward without rotation until its angular socket l1 snugly embraces the angular head 9 of the internal or axle nut, this inward movement of the external nut continuing until the base of its angular socket strikes against the outer face of the internal nut. As soon as the nuts are thus interlocked and the wrench removed the continued movement of the wheel in the same direction necessarily revolves both nuts in the same direction, and as a consequence the internal or axle nut is unscrewed and the wheel automatically disengaged from the axle. Assuming that the internal nut still remains interlocked with the external nut, to pnt the wheel back in place it is tted on the axle until the threaded end of the latter projects slightly into the internal or axle nut. The

wheel is then spun forward and causes the external nut to act as a wrench and screw the internal nut upon the axle until its limit 3f movementis attained. As this takes place and as the external nut cannot revolve farther in the same direction, due to its interlocked relation with the internal nut, the continued revolution of the wheel in the same direction causes the threaded point-band to impart outward movement to the external nut, said movement continuing until said nuts are totally disengaged, as will be readily understood. If it be desired to remove the external nut, it is only necessary to turn the screw or screws 2O until the flat sides of their heads extend tangentially of the nut. The latter can then be removed by means of a wrench, or by holding it stationary and spinning the wheel forward the same effect is produced, and if it be desired to remove the axle-nut from position without removing the wheel from the axle it can of course be removed by a wrench engaged with the rectangular head S. In practice the operation of placing the wheel on or removing it from position is very rapid, due to the fact that the threads on the point-band and external nut run about eight or ten to the inch. If the operator by carelessness or otherwise should have left t-he external nutinterlocked with theinternal nut after securing the wheel in position, it is obvious that the forward movement of the wheel `will utilize the interlnal nut as a stationary wrench to prevent the external nut from revolving as the revolution `of the point-band forces the external nut outward until it is totally disengaged from the internal nut.

In adjusting the external nut inwardly preliminary to removing the ivheel it may happen `that the socket ll `fails to register exactly with ythe head 9, thereby causing `the external nut to strike against ythe -faceof the internal 4n ut without slipping over the same, as it should. If this happens, the wheel stops its backward revolution and it'is necessary to rotate it backward .or forward a fraction of a circle, `and with it the `external nut, in order to cause the socket of the latter to register properly with the headQof the internal nut, `or instead of rotating the wheel the operator by meansof a wrench can turn theexternal nut enough to accomplish ythe purpose desired. In `practice it takes but a moment or two to effect the object desired, and then the operator can hold the external nut from revolvingand spin the wheel backward as `before and cause said nut to .move inward and interlock -with the internal nut.

From theabove description it 4will be apparent that we have produceda vehicle-.Wheel embodying fthe features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of invention, and it is to he understood that while we have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of our invention we reserve the right :to make all changes properly falling within its spirit and scope.

Having thus described the invention, what we claim as new, and desirerto secure by Letters Patent, is-

IIO

l. The combination With an axle, a Wheel journaled thereon, an axle-nut screwed on the axle and holding the wheel thereon, and au external nut screwed onto the outer end of the hub and provided With an integrallyformed socket at its inner side adapted to interlock with the axle-nut and turn the latter in one direction or the other, substantially as described.

2. The combination of an axle, a Wheel journaled thereon, an axle-nut screwed on the axle and holding the wheel thereon, and an external nut screwed to the hub and adapted to interlock with the axle-nut; the outer or closed end of said external nut being solid or non-perforate, all arranged substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination of an axle, a Wheel journaled thereon, an axle-nut engaging the axle and holding the Wheel thereon, a pointband secured to and forming a part of the wheel-hub, asupplelnental internally-threaded point-band secured to the first-named point-band, and an external nut screwed into the supplemental pointband and adapted to interlock with said axle-nut, substantially as described.

4. The combination of an axle, 'a Wheel jonrnaled thereon, an axle-nut engaging the axle and holding the wheel thereon, a pointband secured to and forming a part of the Wheel-hub, a su pplemen tal internally-th readed point-band secured Within the rst-named point-band to form a part of the same and the hub, and an external nut screwed into the supplemental point-band and adapted to interlock with said axle-nut, substantially as described. v

5. The combination of an axle, a Wheel journaledthei'eon, an axle-nut engaging the axle and holding the Wheel thereon, a pointband secured to and forming a part of the Wheel-hub, a supplemental internally-threaded point-band within the first-named pointband provided at its inner end With a plu# rality of perforated points'embedded in the Wood of the hub and bearing outwardly against the first-named .point-band, securing devices extending through said point-band and perforated points into the wood of the hub, and an external nut screwed into the in= ternally-threaded point-band and adapted to interlock with the axle-nut, substantially as described.

6. The combination of an axle, a Wheel journaled thereon, an axle-nut engaging the axle and holding the Wheel .in place, said nut having an angular head, a point-band secured to the hub,a supplemental internally-threadL ed point-band secured to and forming a part` ofthe Wheel-hub, and an external nut screwed into the supplemental point-band and pro vided with an angular socket at its inner side adapted to interlock with the correspondi ingly-formed head of the axle-nut, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in the presence of witnesses.

SAMUEL H. VAN TRUMP. FRANK D. ROWELL.

Witnesses as to signature of Samuel H. Van Trump:

' R. M. MCGEE,

J oHN P. Moss.

Witnesses as to signature of Frank D. Rowell:

FRED. S. Loos, E. D. MOORE. 

